Exclusive look at NBAF: preventing pandemics, protecting our food supply, and agricultural economy
3 April 2023
MANHATTAN (KSNT) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new state-of-the-art National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony later this year.
In 2009, Kansas was chosen to be the home of the USDA’s new $1.25 billion research center. The project has been in the works for 14 years. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held May 24, according to Senator Jerry Moran.
NBAF will work on the development of vaccines, countermeasures and laboratory research, according to the USDA. The facility will host the first maximum biocontainment space (BSL-4) facility in the U.S. capable of holding large livestock.
The facility will replace the 68-year-old Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) located in New York which focuses on foreign animal disease research, according to the USDA. The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service will transfer their research from PIADC to NBAF.
The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) built the facility, finishing the construction in May 2022. Contractor commissioning was completed in December 2022, according to the USDA.
It was reported by the USDA that once the DHS transferred ownership of the facility it would take a couple years to transfer research from PIADC to NBAF.
The following diseases have been identified as requirements for study at NBAF:
Foot and Mouth Disease
Classical Swine Fever
African Swine Fever
Rift Valley Fever
Crimean-Congo Hemorragic Fever
Japanese Enephalitis Virus
Nipah Virus
Before work can begin, staff must undergo reviews by the Federal Select Agent Program to evaluate the safety and security of the laboratory, according to the USDA.